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Charles Barkley thought the Arizona Coyotes' April Fools' joke about him being hired as a special adviser was hilarious.(Photo: Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports)

Former NBA star Charles Barkley, now a television analyst for Inside the NBA on TNT, is a dedicated hockey fan. He is a close friend of Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet and former NHL star Jeremy Roenick, among others.

He is known to have an NHL playoff game on one of his televisions, even when he is watching NBA games. Barkley loves playoff overtime games and NHL parity. He has pointed opinions about hockey.

In a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports, here is what he had to say about this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

On why he was rooting for Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to reach the conference final for the first time:

Barkley, on the list of great NBA players to never a title, said he had been weary of hearing that Ovechkin had never reached the conference final. He viewed Ovechkin’s situation being similar to the Houston Rockets' Chris Paul, who reached the conference final for the first time this season.

“Chris Paul is a great player,” Barkley said. “He wasn’t the reason they weren’t getting to the conference finals. I hated that they kept saying that about him. You can see what a great player he is by what happened to the (Los Angeles) Clippers when he left.”

Added Barkley: “Being great is both a blessing and a curse – you get all of the credit and you get all of the blame.”

On Washington’s chances of knocking off the Lightning (Barkley, who roots for Tampa Bay because of his friendship with Cooper, said this before Game 2):

“They’ve had the monkey on their back for a long time – since 1998,” Barkley said of the Capitals' confidence level. “There’s been so much pressure on them. As a Lightning fan, I hope that now that they have the monkey off their back, they haven’t become something that can’t be contained.”

“(ESPN’s) Barry Melrose is the best analyst on television,” Barkley said. “He didn’t think that was a dirty hit. I will have to accept his expertise on that. I will tell you that Wilson can play on my team any time.”

On how often he texts with Roenick:

Barkley said he regularly texts with Roenick in overtime games or when he comes across strategy decisions that he wants amplified, such as the decision on when to pull a goalie for a sixth attacker or when to bench a goalie.

“The other night I texted him about (Nashville Predators goalie) Pekka Rinne,” Barkley said. “When they took him out (and replaced him with Juuse Saros in the first period of Game 7), I asked whether it was a good move or a bad move, because I wanted to know. I trust J.R. because he is a straight shooter.”

Barkley said he was told beforehand that it was going to happen and thought it was hilarious. “I got a lot of texts from people wanting to know what I knew about hockey,” Barkley said, laughing.

On what he wants to happen if his Lightning don’t win:

“I really want to see a Canadian team win the Stanley Cup because I think it would be great for hockey, and then you have the Vegas situation. … There are some great story lines in these Final Four match-ups,” he said. “I can’t believe Winnipeg won a Game 7 in Nashville after losing Game 6. I thought the Jets would be shell-shocked.”

On what his NBA friends think about his fascination with the NHL:

“I don’t care what they think. I watch hockey every night in the playoffs. If you don’t love the Stanley Cup playoffs ...,” he said, tailing off.

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Game 7: Washington Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky (65) celebrates with defenseman John Carlson (74) after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second period.
Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tomas Tatar (90), playing his first game since May 2, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal in a 3-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets.
Terrence Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Game 7: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tyler Myers (57) is congratulated by defenseman Ben Chiarot (7) after a goal during the first period of a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

Game 6: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury reaches for the puck before San Jose Sharks right wing Kevin Labanc can get to it. Fleury made 28 saves for his fourth shutout of the playoffs.
Stan Szeto, USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and center Steven Stamkos lie on top of Boston Bruins center David Krejci while protecting the goal during the third period of Tampa's 4-1 win.
Winslow Townson, USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: James Shaw Jr., the hero in the recent Waffle House shooting in Tennessee, sits in the stands after being introduced during the first period in the Nashville Predators' game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Shelley Mays, The (Nashville) Tennessean

Game 1: Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14) reacts after a goal by Winnipeg Jets center Paul Stastny (second from left) during the second period of a 4-1 loss.
Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (8) kneels on the ice after missing a shot on Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (30) in the first period of a 3-2 loss.
Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

Game 7: Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) celebrates with defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) after scoring a goal during the third period of a 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Greg M. Cooper, USA TODAY Sports

Game 6: Colorado Avalanche goaltender Andrew Hammond, who dominated the Nashville Predators in Game 5, looked human in a 5-0 loss that sent Nashville to the second round.
Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Sports

Game 5: Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog (92) celebrates after scoring a goal to tie the game during the third period of a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

Game 4: Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov looks up after he's knocked to the ice in the third period. Kucherov earlier had knocked Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen out of the game with a hard hit.
Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Game 4: Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who named a Vezina Trophy finalist earlier in the day, makes one of his 30 saves in a 2-0 victory against the Minnesota Wild.
Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, back, was named No. 2 star in a 5-2 victory against Tampa Bay Lightning. Getting his first start of the playoffs, he made 34 saves for his first win since Dec. 27.
Ed Mulholland, USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Nashville Predators forward Craig Smith (15) celebrates with Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg (9) after a goal during the second period of a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury following their 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, their first playoff win in team history.
Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports